Responsible pit bull owners targeted

Thursday

Jul 29, 2010 at 6:00 AM

Concerning the proposed ordinance regulating pit bulls currently being considered by the Worcester City Council, although I understand the concerns of Councilor William Eddy about biting incidents involving pit bulls, the proposed ordinance seems discriminatory and punitive. Mr. Eddy asserts that 25 percent of the incidents involving dog bites are committed by pit bulls. He also says that pit bulls comprise 2 percent of the licensed dog population. Were all of the pit bulls involved in these biting incidents actually licensed? Ill bet that some (perhaps many) of the dogs were illegal. If so, their owners would likely ignore the ordinance.

I wonder, then, how many of those pit bulls that bit people belonged to responsible owners, owners who train their dogs to behave and do not condition them to be mean and dangerous  status symbols of toughness. Why punish all owners of pit bulls when not all owners are irresponsible, nor all pit bulls dangerous. Moreover, what kinds of dogs, in what percentages, were involved in the other 75 percent of biting incidents?

Do Mr. Eddy and City Solicitor David Moore believe pit bulls are more dangerous than Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, or German shepherds? Every biting incident I have experienced in my family  three  has been committed by a German shepherd.

It is unfortunate that no one spoke out on behalf of responsible pit bull owners or the breed, but perhaps someone will at the Aug. 10 hearing.